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The 506 m long steel bridge, consisting of eight spans, was designed by Stefan Szyller. Its construction, begun in 1904, was carried out by the K. Rudzki i S-ka company and supervised by engineers Mieczysław Marszewski and Wacław Paszkowski. Despite being viewed by many as an extravagance (opponents of its construction included the then mayor of Warsaw and the writer Bolesław Prus), it was opened on January 6, 1914, by the Russian Governor General, Georgi Skalon, as Warsaw's third bridge; hence it was nicknamed "third bridge" (Polish: "trzeci most") by the city's residents, though its official name was "Bridge of Our Most Gracious Ruler, TsarNicholas II" (Warsaw then being part of the Russian Empire, following the 18th-century partitions of Poland). After Poland regained independence in 1918, the bridge was renamed after Prince Józef Poniatowski and acquired a new nickname — "Poniatoszczak" — which it retains to this day.

Poniatowski Bridge after being blown up by the Russian Army in 1915.

Poniatowski Bridge during the 1915 fire (shortly after being rebuilt from being blown up).

The first post-war plans by the new (communist) Polish government provided for the construction of a wooden temporary structure on the surviving pillars, but hasty work caused the bridge to collapse. Restored again on new pillars, the bridge was reopened again on 22 July 1946 by Bolesław Bierut. However, by now the reopened bridge had lost much of its pre-war splendor, as limited funds meant no resources to restore the various decorative neo-Polish renaissance features, such as the hand-made balustrades or stone benches. Some of the old pre-war benches, as well as one of the old spans, can be seen in the water near the bridge at low tide.

Renovated small towers as of 2013.

Between 1963 and 1966 the bridge was widened, a trolley track was separated from the carriageway and the bridge was connected to the Wisłostrada expressway on the left bank of the Vistula by means of a long looping sloped roadway section which reminded some commentators of a snail's shell.[1] During another repair and expansion in 1985-1990, when the roads on the right bank (Praga) were expanded, a temporary bridge (Syrena Bridge) was erected (it was in use until replaced by Świętokrzyski Bridge in 2000).

In 2004 a reconstruction and beautification program of the bridge began. By 2005 the small towers and the first four spans had been rebuilt. The tramway track was modernized and rebuilt in 2007.